A quasi-one-frame phase-unwrapping algorithm through zone-switching and zone-shifting hybrid implementation

This study presents a wrapped-data-switching model and a corresponding regional unwrapping algorithm for 2D phase fields retrieval. In contrast to earlier techniques, which only produce successive frames of transient unwrapping, the proposed method can produce correct unwrapping in quasi-one frames. The approach tolerates isolated phase inconsistencies, and thus is quite effective for unwrapping speckle-coded contour map with numerous discrete inconsistencies. Since the analysis is based on a wrapped-data-switching model, the proposed criterion is path independent and error-propagation free. Additionally, the criteria are simple, concise, efficient, and easily implemented. The criteria and characteristics of the algorithm are demonstrated by simulating ideal and problematic cases, as well as by conducting experiments. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.